DOJ files for summary judgment in case against Virgin Islands’ permitting scheme
WASHINGTON — Someone in the DOJ has a sense of humor.
“It has recently come to the United States’ attention that Police Commissioner Mario Brooks has been acting as the Firearms Czar of the Virgin Islands.”
With those words, on June 10, the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division under AAG Harmeet Dhillon filed for summary judgment in its December 2025 case against the Virgin Islands over its permitting scheme.
Summary judgment is a request to the court to decide the case without a trial when there are no disputed facts.
New lawsuit against Virginia gun control takes a novel approach
RICHMOND, Va. — Nearly all lawsuits challenging gun control have been based on the premise of violation of individual rights enumerated in the Constitution – specifically, the Second Amendment.
A new lawsuit challenging Virginia gun control legislation takes a novel approach. The lawsuit hinges on the legal responsibilities specified in Virginia’s state constitution.
Curtis et al v. Katz et al, filed on May 19, 2026, in the Circuit Court of Spotsylvania County, Virginia, names the Virginia Superintendent of State Police, Jeffrey Katz, and focuses on a specific clause in the Virginia Constitution written by George Mason in 1776, which says:
That a well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state…
Regarding these words, the complaint asserts, “They are not a preamble. They are not a recital. They are operative constitutional text, continuously in force for two hundred and fifty years.”
The lawsuit simply argues that the state’s comprehensive weapons ban (signed into law in May) prevents the “body of the people” who are the militia from executing their duty to be trained to arms outlined in the state constitution.
The lawsuit is being brought by two men who qualify as part of the unorganized militia, along with a gun shop (Bob’s Gun Shop), and a firearms trainer, all represented by former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. Learn more.
ATF continues implementation of reform package – FFL tax requirements
WASHINGTON — The ATF is continuing to revise, post for comment, and implement the rules announced during its April 29 press conference to modernize and reform gun-related administrative issues.
In a June 15 post on X, the ATF announced a proposed revision to a rule addressing taxes imposed on federally licensed firearms dealers and manufacturers under the National Firearms Act.
The ATF stated it is simplifying Special Occupational Taxpayer (SOT) requirements so that FFLs will owe only one SOT fee per business activity (manufacturing, importing, or dealing) at each location, regardless of the number of Gun Control Act licenses held for that activity.
View the full proposed rule, which is open for comment until July 6, 2026.
FPC appeals to Fifth Circuit in lawsuit challenging Texas ban on carry
NEW ORLEANS — In March, a U.S. district judge decided that Texas laws banning the carry of firearms in certain public places were constitutional. The Firearms Policy Coalition-backed lawsuit was filed in September 2024.
On June 15, FPC renewed that legal challenge with an appeal to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The specific Texas law being challenged is about as arbitrary as could be imagined, and certainly lacking in historical precedent. It bans the carrying of firearms in businesses where alcohol comprises 51% or more of sales, at racetracks, and at sporting events.
“The Second Amendment cannot be redlined out of existence through laws that are incompatible with the Constitution’s text and our Nation’s history. But that is exactly what Texas is trying to do here. Under binding Supreme Court precedent, Texas cannot criminalize carrying firearms in ordinary places people visit every day, like restaurants, sporting events, and racetracks,” said FPC President Brandon Combs, in an email statement.
